The Acceptance of Studies on European Medieval and Renaisance Music in Japan Haruyo Miyazaki

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the early stage of acceptance of medieval and Renaissance music studies in Japan through the activities of pioneering researchers, the establishment of specialised libraries, and research groups. Scholars fascinated by this music studied abroad and used their knowledge to educate Japanese society and popularise early music. For example, Tastuo Minagawa was one of the first to introduce the study of such music in Japan, particularly early music notation and the related music history. Additionally, he contributed to the establishment of libraries specialising in this field. Masakata Kanazawa also made outstanding achievements, especially in music theory and manuscript studies. For example, he researched the Montecassino, Ms.871, in collaboration with Isabel Pope. Their critical edition of the manuscript published in 1978 was awarded the ASCAP Deems-Taylor Award in 1980. Other important researchers include Noriko Murai, who translated many foreign documents on the history of Western music into Japanese and educated not only musicologists, but also performers; Kosaku Toguchi, who studied fourteenth-century Italian music, and Hiroko Kishimoto, who introduced music library science in Japan. In terms of influential libraries, the Toyama Music Library, affiliated with the Toyama Music Foundation, was the first to specialise in medieval and Renaissance music in Japan. Finally, the Medieval and Rennaissance Music Society focusing on these music periods continues to publish treatises, translated from Latin into Japanese with explanatory articles, which has helped to improve understandings of medieval and Renaissance music's theoretical aspects in Japan.